Prevent Michele Bachmann from Eroding Wild and Scenic Rivers Act Protections

Prevent Michele Bachmann from Eroding Wild and Scenic Rivers Act Protections

Dear Congressman Markey and all members of the House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee:

America has precious few wild and scenic rivers in what was once a boundless land of unspoiled vitality. The progress made over many decades in protecting these remaining unspoiled treasures is an achievement that should not be carelessly set aside at the whim of a carnival political season led by fringe candidates that do not represent traditional Republican conservative values and certainly do not represent progressive Democrat values.

For twenty years, local residents, environmental organizations, and stakeholders in Wisconsin and Minnesota have resisted efforts to build an inappropriately massive four-lane freeway-style bridge across the St. Croix River. As environmental organizations such as American Rivers and the Sierra Club have long argued, such a bridge would irreparably harm the St. Croix River, ecosystem, and watershed in an unconscionable manner. Now, however, seeking to establish her credentials as a legislator who can get passed laws directly adverse to the interests of her own constituency in favor of large corporate interests, Representative Michele Bachmann is introducing legislation to enable such a colossal bridge to be built against the tide of public opposition.

Not only would Bachmann's proposed legislation sacrifice a priceless aspect of America's natural heritage, it does so at a $690 million price. Meanwhile, less intrusive, more moderately priced alternatives are available.

However, the most injurious aspect of Bachmann's legislation is that it takes aim at one of our nation's most important environmental laws, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Never once, in the four decades since the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was passed, have protections extended to a river designated as wild and scenic been subsequently stripped away. This is precisely what Bachmann's legislation will do to the St. Croix River. If the St. Croix River's protections are rolled back, no wild and scenic river will be safe. The Wild and Scenic River Act will be rendered illusory by such a precedent.

We, the signatories to this petition reside throughout the fifty states of our nation. We make this petition to your committee to inform you that we are deeply committed to preserving America's few remaining wild and scenic rivers, that we expect you to defend the integrity of the protections extended under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and that we will not tolerate the legislative abandonment and sacrifice of our natural heritage, the wilderness commons entrusted to you as our elected officials to protect.

Representative Bachmann belongs to the same carnival of Republican candidates that is embarrassing that Party in the early 2012 presidential campaign season and that includes Donald Trump, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin. These are not sober, disciplined, self-reliant individuals who seek to govern out of the wisdom earned through hard work and experience. They are reality tv show self-promoters steeped in self-righteous narcissism who betray the voters who lean to the political right and yet love clear flowing rivers and abundant and beautiful wildlife as much as those who lean to the political left.

We implore the Natural Resources committee as a whole to defend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and to use all the power at its disposal to kill Bachmann's behemoth bridge bill, and any legislation offered that would strip away wild and scenic river protections from any river, especially the St. Croix River.

[Your name]